The film was not released widely, but it received very favourable reviews, including a number of film festival awards and two design Academy Awards. While considered an artistic success, illustrating Victorian era British life in the theatre in depth, the film did not recover its production costs. Leigh cast actors who did their own singing in the film, and the singing performances were faulted by some critics, while others lauded Leigh's strategy.

Plot

On the opening night of Princess Ida at the Savoy Theatre, Sir Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner), who is ill from kidney disease, is barely able to make it to the theatre to conduct. He goes on a holiday to Continental Europe in the hope that the rest will improve his health. While he is away, ticket sales and audiences at the Savoy Theatre wilt in the hot summer weather of 1884. Producer Richard D'Oyly Carte (Ron Cook) has called on the playwright and composer to create a new piece for the Savoy, but it is not ready before Ida closes. In the meantime, until a new piece can be prepared, he revives an earlier Gilbert and Sullivan work, The Sorcerer.

Gilbert's idea for their next opera features a transformative magic lozenge, which Sullivan feels is repetitive, since it is similar to the story of The Sorcerer, and mechanical, due to its reliance on a supernatural device. Sullivan, under pressure to write more serious music, says he longs for something that is "probable" and involves "human interest", and not dependent on magic. Gilbert sees nothing wrong with his libretto and refuses to write a new one, which results in a stand-off. The impasse is resolved after Gilbert and his wife visit a popular exhibition of Japanese arts and crafts. When the katana sword that he purchased there falls noisily off the wall of his study, he is inspired to write a libretto set in exotic Japan. Sullivan likes the idea and agrees to compose the music for it.

Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte work to make The Mikado a success, and many glimpses of rehearsals and stressful backstage preparations for the show follow: Cast members lunch together before negotiating their salaries. Gilbert brings in Japanese girls from the exhibition to teach the ladies' chorus how to walk and use fans in the Japanese manner. The principal cast react to the fittings of their costumes designed by the famous costumier C. Wilhelm. The entire cast object to the proposed cut of the title character's Act Two solo, "A more humane Mikado". The actors face first-night jitters in their dressing rooms. Finally The Mikado is ready to open. As usual, Gilbert is too nervous to watch the opening performance and paces the streets of London. Returning to the theatre, however, he finds that the new opera is a resounding success.

Depiction of Victorian society

While the film deals primarily with the production of The Mikado, it also shows many aspects of 1880s British life. George Grossmith's use of morphine, Sullivan's mistress, Mrs Frances ("Fanny") Ronalds' implying that she will obtain an abortion, three actors' discussion of the destruction of the British garrison at Khartoum by the Mahdi, a private salon concert, a conversation about the use of nicotine by women, and Gilbert being accosted outside the theatre on opening night by a beggar, all show different aspects of Victorian society and life at the time.

The film also accurately depicts the Savoy Theatre as having electric lighting. It was the first public building in Britain – and at the time one of the few buildings there of any kind – to be lit entirely by electricity. The film also shows an early use of the telephone. However, the depiction of the Gilberts' marriage as cold and loveless is at odds with the available historical evidence. W. S. Gilbert wrote many affectionate letters to his wife "Kitty", and the couple was very socially active both in London and at their home at Grim's Dyke, often holding dinner parties and being invited to others' homes for dinner.

Production

Topsy-Turvy was filmed at Three Mills Studios in London beginning 29 June and completed shooting on October 24. Location shooting took place in London and Hertfordshire, and scenes which took place at the Savoy Theatre were filmed at the Richmond Theatre in Richmond, Surrey. The film's budget was $20,000,000.

Reception

The movie received an 86% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a 90 at Metacritic, indicating that critical reception was overall positive. In the United States, the film grossed $6,208,548 in total, and $31,387 on its opening weekend. In the United Kingdom, the film grossed £610,634 in total and £139,700 on its opening weekend. Both the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics named it as the Best Picture of 1999.

The film also won Best Make Up/Hair at the BAFTA Awards, and was nominated for Best British Film, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jim Broadbent), Best Supporting Actor (Timothy Spall) and Best Original Screenplay. Broadbent also won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival, and the film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the same festival.